The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment have finally received clearance regarding their merger from the United Kingdom regulators. After being granted necessary licenses by the regulator, the two business ventures can continue with their already proposed $12.2 billion-worth merger which once completed will create the largest online gambling and betting business globally. This combined group is expected to have net revenues worth around $4 billion in normal working environments.

Before being granted necessary licenses to proceed with the merger talks, the companies involved wondered whether the Competition and Markets Authority would demand that some The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment brands be sold before the CMA approved the business deal. Fortunately for the companies involved, the CMA concluded that fans of online betting activities residing in the United Kingdom would have enough choice after the merger deal is completed. Furthermore, the Competition and Markets Authority also concluded that the merger will not worsen the overall offering to gamers who bet online.

Findings of the Competition and Markets Authority

In its latest research regarding the proposed merger between The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment, the Competition and Markets Authority has found that online gambling firms compete strongly for their customers while the United Kingdom betting market is packed with a number of small and large online sports betting operators that offer their services here. The CMA has also found out that there the merging companies would leave space for those smaller operators to proceed with their activities which finally prompted the regulator to allow the two companies to complete the merger.

It should be noted that this was the last fundamental regulatory hurdle for the proposed merger deal as The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment have been already granted necessary permissions by antitrust regulatory authorities in Canada, Austria, Germany and the United States where The Stars Group is based as well as in Australia where both sports betting operators enjoy a great reputation and have a great share of the entire betting market.

Being granted necessary licenses in the United Kingdom was definitely the toughest obstacle to come across. Speaking of the online betting market in the United Kingdom, The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment-owned brands together account for over forty percent of the United Kingdom’s online sports betting market as well as around twenty-six percent of the overall online gaming market in the country. Before being granted necessary licenses, some experts believed that Flutter Entertainment may have to sell some of its brands to appease the Competition and Markets Authority.

Several Smaller Regulators Still to Approve the Merger Deal

However, the companies’ merger deal has been approved while the two have managed to keep all of their brands. According to Flutter Entertainment officials, there are still several smaller regulatory bodies that need to approve the company’s merger deal. They also added that this could be postponed due to the global coronavirus crisis. However, the company’s officials also added that the crisis will not jeopardize the merger deal.

In one of the company’s press releases, the officials said that the deal will not be sabotaged despite the massive economic shock related to the cancellation and postponement of sports events across the globe. All in all, Flutter Entertainment will be more affected by the coronavirus crisis as the majority of its revenues come from online sports betting while The Stars Group makes the majority of its gaming revenues from online casino and poker games.

The main Australian competition regulator has informally approved the long-time planned merger of Canadian The Stars Group Incorporated and Irish sports betting operator Flutter Entertainment. According to one report released by The Irish Times news outlet, this important authorization by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is a mandatory step before the two entities can merge officially.

As soon as this happens, the two will create the world’s largest sports betting entity with a massive player base of over ten million customers. Also reported by The Irish Times newspaper, the two entities hope to have completed the planned merger sometime in the following months by the end of September. However, for this to happen, the entire arrangement must be approved by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board as well as a number of other regulatory bodies including the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.

History of Flutter Entertainment

Formerly Paddy Power Betfair plc, Flutter Entertainment is a prominent bookmaking company that was created by the merger of Betfair and Paddy Power. The company operates under several different brands including FanDuel, TVG, Sportsbet, Paddy Power, and Betfair. It was founded relatively recently back in 2016 when Betfair and its probably biggest rival Paddy Power agreed with all terms for a merger.

Today, the merged business is owned 48% by former shareholders of Betfair and 52% by former shareholders of Paddy Power. Since the merger was completed back in February of 2016, the company started implementing a fully electronic self-exclusion policy through its app. This new system replaced the current process in the United Kingdom. Then in May of 2018, the Paddy Power Betfair company announced that it will be acquiring FanDuel which is one of the biggest sports betting operators in the USA.

As part of this acquisition deal, the company invested 158 million to merge its existing business operations in the USA into its newly-formed FanDuel Group. Speaking of the company’s business acquisitions, it also acquired 51% controlling stakes in a Georgian adjarabet which emerged on the scene in 1998.

Then in March last year, the Paddy Power Betfair company announced that it is rebranding as Flutter Entertainment. The new business form operates separate brands in Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom while it operates across different divisions including the United States, Australia, retail and online.

The Stars Group Entertainment’s Business Objectives

Formerly known as Amaya Gaming Group and Rational Group, The Stars Group is a prominent Canadian online gaming company that is currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The company was founded in 2001 in Toronto, Canada and today it offers online gaming services and products including sportsbook, casino, and poker through several online divisions.

The company operates several online brands including Full Tilt Poker, BetStars, PokerStars Casino and PokerStars. The firm is also the owner of the MegaStack, PokerStars Festival and PokerStars Championship poker tournaments. With the two companies merging together, the world’s biggest sports betting brand would be formed.

Flutter Entertainment will be handing over its shares worth around $6.95 billion while the company plans to acquire a 54.64% stake of The Stars Group before it proceeds with merging operations with the other entity. For its part, The Stars Group Incorporated is looking forward to new business deals and successful acquisitions which will allow the company’s expansion across other markets.